14 Astonishing Insights Into the Life of King Tut
Tutankhamun is the most famous pharaoh of them all. Howard Carter’s discovery of his tomb in 1922 is still one of the most significant (and well-preserved) cultural discoveries ever. Though a famous pharaoh, King Tut was a minnow compared to Ramses the Great. However, this pharaoh may have been far more interesting than perceived.
1. His Gene Pool Was Not Deep
Due to people of the time wishing to maintain pure bloodlines, Tutankhamun’s parents were likely related when they conceived him. This tradition is still prevalent in some parts of the Middle East, though scholars have warned against it for many years.
2. Nor Were His Children’s
Sadly, King Tut’s marriage to his apparent half-sister, Ankhesenamun, produced two stillborn pregnancies. After the pharaoh died, the two infants were mummified and laid to rest alongside their father in his tomb. His widow may have remarried the subsequent pharaoh, Ay: King Tut’s uncle.
3. He Became King As A Boy
Like most Egyptian royals, Tutankhamun’s passage to the throne was through his bloodline, and he ascended to rule the country aged only nine years. Of course, Joffrey Lannister demonstrates how dangerous a young monarch can be, so it is feasible that his uncle Ay made his initial decisions.
4. His Birth Name Was Different
Tutankhamun was not born with this name, having been named Tutankhaten by his father, the infamous Akhnaten. Due to his preference for Amun, the pharaoh changed his name, contrasting his father’s preference for the god Aten. By importing Amun’s name, Tutankhamun’s name can be summarized as the living image of Amun.
5. His Health Was Poor
The young pharaoh had severe bone problems, a disease that left him with a clubbed left foot. With such an incapacity, it’s no surprise his depiction in ancient artwork shows him sitting down when engaged in archery. Sadly, King Tut’s inbred gene pool likely led to these complications and possibly caused his death — CT scans show a left broken leg and consequent deadly infection.
6. He May Have Cast A Curse
Although the world became delirious with “Tutmania” after the tomb was opened in 1922, those responsible for funding and finding the artifacts suffered curious deaths. For example, British aristocrat George Herbert, who funded the dig, was found dead from blood poisoning from an alleged facial mosquito bite; his half-brother also died from blood poisoning. Furthermore, Sir Bruce Ingram, who had accepted gifts from the tomb, lost his house to a fire. Nevertheless, Howard Carter dismissed any thoughts of a curse as superstitious.
7. He Was Undefeated in War
Following Akhenaten’s reign, Egypt suffered from domestic turmoil and economic woes, and subsequently, relations with other kingdoms had soured. King Tut’s Thebes mortuary temple record shows victories against the Nubians and Asiatics. Depictions in the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt’s artworks show a young pharaoh at battle as a chariot archer. With his age and apparent physical limitations, painters showing him as a warrior may have been upon his order.
8. He Was Buried With a Space Dagger
Those who like to speculate on whether ancient Egyptians were an alien race far too advanced for their time will enjoy this fact. One artifact attached to King Tut’s remains was a dagger carved from high-grade nickel and cobalt. This revelation means the materials used were extraterrestrial, which means they came from a meteorite — or did they?
9. He Wasn’t the Only Child Pharaoh
Although Tutankhamun ascended to the throne at age nine, he wasn’t the only youngster. Cleopatra’s legend lives long in popular culture for her diva-like behavior and style. However, some people don’t know that the Queen was a co-regent with her younger brother (and spouse) Ptolemy XIII, who was only ten years old in 51 BCE when they became Egypt’s leaders.
10. He May Have Been Killed In A Chariot Race
Although chariot racing didn’t become popular until adopted by the Romans eight centuries later, theorists believe Tutankhamun may have died from a chariot accident. With the discovery of his broken leg, historians posit that he may have had an accident, considering royalty’s chariots were lighter and faster than the standard version. The most feasible hypothesis is that he was hunting at the time.
11. He Loved Backgammon
Senet is a board game with wooden pieces that people of all ages and class levels played during the older dynasties and beyond. A perfectly preserved game was found in the tomb. Sadly, the rules are still unknown, though historians have likened Senet to a primitive form of backgammon.
12. He Dealt With Religious Conflicts
Advisors likely guided King Tut to reverse many changes made during Akhenaten’s controversial reign. While his father ushered in an ancient form of monotheism, his son’s third year ended Aten’s prominence as Egypt’s primary god. Instead, the Amun cult ban was lifted, the capital restored at Thebes, and its predecessor Akhetaten abandoned.
13. He May Be Buried With His Birth Mother
Much speculation surrounds the pharaoh’s origin, but DNA testing from a female mummy in his tomb shows she could be his mother. The mummy became known as “The Younger Lady,” and a fatal injury to her face points to a deadly event before being interred with the pharaoh. Sadly, she isn’t recorded anywhere in family records, which could mean she was one of Akhenaten’s less favored wives.
14. His Mask Hid The Truth Of His Appearance
As we know, King Tut’s birth resulted from a biological imbalance from intermarrying, which was common at the time for maintaining (ironically) pure family bloodlines. Subsequently, the handsome, cobra-shaped, angular-jawed golden burial mask we all know was not a true representation of the young king. Instead, CT scans and reconstructions show a buck-toothed, club-footed, disabled male. In the tomb were 130 walking canes, which denote someone with severe orthopedic problems.
